Council chiefs urge residents to take up health check offers
06/07/2022 Local authority leaders have stressed the importance of NHS Health Checks as new figures reveal a relatively low take up of the service. |
Health pilot to explore using sports centres to tackle arthritis launched
01/07/2022 A project has been launched to investigate how to transform leisure facilities into musculoskeletal (MSK) hubs which can be accessed in every community. |
Public support levy to fund smoking cessation efforts
01/07/2022 Three quarters of the public support making tobacco manufacturers pay a levy to fund tobacco control and smoking cessation, a new survey has found. |
NHS reforms to ‘transform’ delivery of council care services
01/07/2022 NHS England today launched 42 statutory integrated care systems to bring together GPs, hospitals, and local authorities to deliver health and care services. |
The state is failing foster children, charity says
28/06/2022 The needs of many children in foster care are not being properly looked after, a leading fostering charity has warned. |
‘Stark’ projections show 40% of 10 year olds facing obesity
27/06/2022 The Government will miss its deadline for tackling obesity by 2030, council chiefs warn as new figures reveal a high percentage of children are overweight. |
Local government austerity linked to poor health
24/06/2022 Local authority cuts have been a significant driver of poor health outcomes at the local level, according to new research. |
Monkeypox increasing pressure on over-stretched health services
23/06/2022 Local directors of public health are warning of growing pressures on sexual health services due to people presenting with potential symptoms of Monkeypox. |
Staff shortages undermining drug treatment, study reveals
21/06/2022 A loss of skilled professionals and the fragmentation of services has proven a major barrier to tackling drug addiction, new research has found. |
Air quality improvements ‘not as fast as expected’
17/06/2022 The Government’s programme for helping local authorities tackle air pollution has progressed more slowly than expected, according to auditors. |
Nearly a quarter of drivers admit to idling engines
16/06/2022 Over 20% of drivers admit to regularly leaving engines running while their vehicle is stationary despite the impact this has on air quality, research reveals. |
Council chiefs criticise food strategy as ‘missed opportunity’
14/06/2022 Local authority leaders have criticised the Government’s new food strategy which they argue does not tackle the underlying causes of obesity. |
Javid announces £25m for social care digitisation
13/06/2022 The social care sector is to benefit from a £25m investment aimed at increasing the rate that social care records are digitised. |
Inquiry hears of bullying and racism in social care sector
10/06/2022 Lower-paid health and social care workers have experienced bullying, racism and harassment at work, an inquiry by Britain’s equality regulator has heard. |
Disabled woman left without care for 12 months, Ombudsman finds
08/06/2022 Worcestershire County Council has been criticised after it left a woman who had had a stroke without appropriate care for a year. |
Council chiefs welcome ‘shake-up’ of health and social care
08/06/2022 Council leaders have welcomed a review into health and social care leadership, particularly its emphasis on collaboration across the NHS and social care. |
Teaching unions call for expansion of free school meal eligibility
01/06/2022 Teaching unions have called on the Government to extend free school meals to all families on Universal Credit (UC). |
Welsh auditors: NHS waiting lists could take seven years to clear
31/05/2022 It could be seven years before Wales sees its NHS waiting lists come back down to pre-pandemic levels, Welsh Auditors have claimed. |
Council considers paying residents to quit smoking
31/05/2022 Cheshire East Council is considering the idea of trialling a smoking cessation incentive scheme to promote good health and to save the taxpayer money. |
Doctors call for abortion clinic ‘buffer zones’
30/05/2022 Healthcare body representing 14,000 doctors has called for national legislation to prevent anti-abortion protesters intimidating patients and doctors. |
Adult social care reforms could cost nearly £26bn
25/05/2022 Adult social care reforms could cost a minimum of £10bn more than currently estimated and will require over 4,000 new social work staff, new study reveals. |
Gove criticises social housing landlord after ‘severe maladministration’ finding
24/05/2022 Michael Gove has criticised England's largest social housing landlord after an investigation found the housing body was guilty of ‘severe maladministration’. |
Mayor Khan launches consultation on ULEZ expansion
23/05/2022 A consultation on plans to expand the ULEZ to cover most of London has been launched as part of the effort to improve air quality and reduce congestion. |
Call to deploy legal advisers in council spaces
23/05/2022 Legal advisers should be deployed in council offices and other public locations to provide access to civil justice, a think tank has argued. |
One in five children at risk of obesity
19/05/2022 Government should help provide more affordable leisure opportunities, council chiefs say as study reveals children are not getting enough exercise. |
Green space provision should be central to levelling up, charity says
18/05/2022 The amount of green space per person is lower in areas that the Government is targeting as part of the levelling up agenda than it is elsewhere, study reveals. |
Ministers announce £200m for new active travel schemes
16/05/2022 Active Travel England will oversee the delivery by local authorities of 134 active travel schemes, backed by £161m, across 46 council areas outside London. |
Council leaders urge GPs to prescribe leisure centre trips
16/05/2022 Council leaders are urging GPs to prescribe obese patients classes at local leisure centres after research found it could increase life expectancy four years. |
ADASS: More than half a million people now waiting for social care
13/05/2022 Over half a million people are waiting for social care and there has been a dramatic increase in the number of hours of home care that could not be delivered. |
One in six private renters live in poor conditions
06/05/2022 More than one in six private renters in England were forced to accept poor conditions to find somewhere they could rent, housing charity says. |
Government confirms it won’t appeal COVID care home ruling
05/05/2022 Government won't appeal a court decision which found the policy of discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic was unlawful. |
Nearly all UK addresses breach air pollution limits
29/04/2022 Around 97% of all UK addresses breach at least one World Health Organisation (WHO) limit for toxic pollutants, shocking new report reveals. |
Social care cap amendment threatens ‘crippling care costs’
22/04/2022 MPs in Yorkshire, the Midlands and North East should vote down the social care cap amendment to save poorer constituents from ‘crippling' costs, charities say. |
Nearly 40% of electorate prioritising affordable housing in local elections
21/04/2022 Four in 10 Britons say affordable decent housing needs to be improved ahead of the local elections, a new poll reveals. |
Women in England's poorest areas die younger than nearly all other OECD countries
19/04/2022 Women living in the poorest parts of England have a lower life expectancy than women in living in almost any OECD country, new research has revealed. |
Council chiefs welcome £300m to tackle drug addiction
14/04/2022 Council leaders have welcomed a Government announcement of additional funding for local areas to tackle drug dependency as an ‘important step forward’. |
Council defends £237,000 COVID vaccine festival
06/04/2022 A London council has defended a COVID vaccine festival that cost over £200,000 to put on but only saw 435 people jabbed. |
City planning should be based on ‘health first principle’
05/04/2022 The UK’s planning system should be reformed to follow a ‘health first principle’, according to a new report. |
Charity calls for ‘mobility credits’ to promote shared transport
04/04/2022 England’s councils have been urged to introduce incentives for people to give up private vehicles to help increase the use of shared transport. |
Sheffield CAZ delayed until 2023
01/04/2022 Sheffield City Council has announced that the launch of its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will be delayed until 2023. |
Over 30,000 council buildings contain asbestos
30/03/2022 Tens of thousands of council buildings in England contain potentially dangerous asbestos, new research has revealed. |
Five councils in England to trial social care charging reform
28/03/2022 The Government has announced that five local authorities in England will implement a new adult social care charging reform system which caps the cost of care. |
Javid tells care providers digital records ‘basic responsibility’
24/03/2022 Digital records are a ‘basic responsibility’, health secretary Sajid Javid says as he announces 80% of care providers will have digital care records by 2024. |
Council chiefs call for ‘urgent’ extension of COVID fund
24/03/2022 Council leaders and directors of public health have called for an urgent extension of local outbreak management funding to help with rising COVID-19 rates. |
Council to serve only vegan food at events
16/03/2022 Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet has approved plans to serve only locally sourced plant-based food at council catered events. |
Nearly a quarter of older households in England face ‘fuel stress’
11/03/2022 The increase in the cost of energy is set to impact one in four older households and four in five of the poorest, charity warns. |
Council chiefs call for VAT cut on vaping products
09/03/2022 The Government should cut Value Added Tax (VAT) on the sale of vaping products to help people to stop smoking, local authority leaders say. |
Swindon and Wiltshire councils to help deliver £5m home upgrades
09/03/2022 The South West Energy Hub will work with Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council to deliver over £5m worth of home upgrades across Swindon and Wiltshire. |
Mayor Khan requests consultation on ULEZ expansion
04/03/2022 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will today announce in a keynote speech in Forest Hill that he is asking Transport for London (TfL) to consult on expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) London-wide in 2023. |
Toxic air causes over 1,700 asthma hospitalisations in London
02/03/2022 There were over 1,700 hospital admissions for asthma and serious lung conditions in the capital over two years due to toxic air, new analysis has revealed. |
Councils to have access to new online PPE portal
01/03/2022 Local authorities are to be given access to free personal protective equipment (PPE) through a new website, the Government has announced. |
New taskforce aims to ‘level up’ maternity care
23/02/2022 Government launches taskforce aimed at tackling disparities in maternity care experienced by women from ethnic minority groups and those in deprived areas. |
‘COVID-19 hasn’t gone away,’ council chiefs tell PM
22/02/2022 Local authority leaders have urged the Government to ensure that councils have the necessary resources to deal with potential future COVID-19 outbreaks. |
Councils call for local outbreak funding as part of 'Living with COVID' strategy
21/02/2022 Councils have warned they will be forced to stand down public health teams unless the Government extends local outbreak management funding. |
Khan calls for bigger fines to punish rogue landlords
17/02/2022 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for bigger fines to be issued to rogue landlords as part of a move to protect the capital’s renters. |
New guidelines to help disabled children be more active
16/02/2022 The first ever guidelines on physical activity for disabled children and young people have been published today by the UK Chief Medical Officers. |
Smoking 'single largest driver' of health inequalities
09/02/2022 A third of smoking households in England are living in poverty with rates highest in the North, a new study has revealed. |
Social care cap amendment to ‘disproportionately’ hit North
07/02/2022 A proposed Government amendment to the cap on social care costs will impact those with modest levels of wealth in the North and the Midlands, new study shows. |
Families spend £14.6bn replacing missing disability support
07/02/2022 One third of families with disabled children have been forced into debt funding their children’s education, a new survey has revealed. |
Leads for reviews into health disparities confirmed
07/02/2022 The leads for two significant independent reviews to tackle health disparities have been confirmed. |
Rural health services need ‘levelling up’, MPs say
01/02/2022 Rural local authorities spend a disproportionately higher share of their budget on providing social care than their urban counterparts, MPs warn. |
More children could care for sick parents under health reforms, charity warns
26/01/2022 More children could end up caring for sick and disabled adults once they are discharged from hospital under the Government's health reforms, a charity has warned. |
Project ADDER helps over 13,000 people receive drug treatment
26/01/2022 Over 600 crime groups have been disrupted and 13,000 people supported in drug treatment interventions thanks to a whole-systems approach to tackling drugs. |
Hearing loss more prevalent in the North, study reveals
25/01/2022 Northerners over 50 have a 13.5% higher prevalence of hearing loss than Southerners in England, University of Manchester researchers have revealed. |
Quit smoking services under threat from lack of funds
24/01/2022 Local authority-run efforts to help people quit smoking have improved during the pandemic but are under threat due to underfunding, charities warn. |
Cyclist Chris Boardman appointed active travel commissioner
24/01/2022 Cyclist Chris Boardman is to become national commissioner of the Government’s new cycling and walking body, Active Travel England (ATE), which launches today. |
Staff shortages are ‘excessively high’, warn care providers
13/01/2022 Homecare providers are warning that they are having to refuse new requests for home care because of Omicron and ongoing staffing problems. |
Sandwell calls for action on test shortage
06/01/2022 A council has written to ministers after it was forced to step in to alleviate a shortage of COVID testing kits. |
School leaders warn of ‘logistical difficulties’ due to COVID absences
05/01/2022 School leaders have warned of ‘logistical difficulties’ after the education secretary recommended combining classes to deal with workforce shortages. |
London boroughs consider cannabis decriminalisation
05/01/2022 Three London boroughs could be part of a pilot scheme aimed at diverting young people caught with a small amount of cannabis away from the justice system. |
Social care leaders warn of ‘national emergency’
23/12/2021 Leaders from the social care sector are urging people to take extra precautions to limit the spread of Omicron in order to protect adult social care services. |
Omission of gyms from Omicron relief criticised as ‘shameful’
23/12/2021 The industry association representing gyms and sports centres has criticised the Government for omitting their members from the latest COVID support measures. |
Government sets out plans to tackle gender health gap
23/12/2021 The Government has announced that it will ban hymenoplasty and appoint a Women’s Health Ambassador as part of the effort to close the gender health gap. |
School leaders warn GCSEs and A-Levels could be at risk
21/12/2021 School leaders are preparing for the possibility that exams and assessments might be disrupted next year as a result of Omicron. |
Councils to receive over £22m to boost vaccine uptake
20/12/2021 Volunteers are to be deployed across the areas with the lowest vaccine uptake and councils are to receive a funding boost to encourage people to get jabbed. |
County council launches ‘Vaxi Taxi’ scheme
14/12/2021 Suffolk County Council has partnered with local taxi companies to offer a free taxi service to help young people get the COVID-19 vaccination. |
Welsh councils offer £100 winter fuel payment
13/12/2021 Eligible people in Wales will be able to claim a £100 payment from their local authority to provide support towards paying their winter fuel bills. |
Council chiefs welcome £300m social care funding
13/12/2021 Council leaders welcome a new package to protect the care sector this winter, but warned that long-term investment was needed to make social care sustainable. |
Connecting councils and providers to improve care services
10/12/2021 Amal Nawarathna explains how Barnet Council is using data and market insight to improve care quality assurance. |
Councils thanked for ‘integral’ role in fighting COVID
08/12/2021 Local Government Association (LGA) has thanked councils for their role in supporting the COVID-19 vaccine programme one year on from the start of its roll-out. |
Enhanced Area Status extended for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire
07/12/2021 The Government has agreed to extend the Enhanced Area Status for an extra three weeks in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire in a bid to drive down COVID-19 rates. |
Over £23m plan to end HIV infections launched
01/12/2021 The Government has announced a new multi-million-pound action plan aimed at ending new HIV infections and deaths by 2030. |
Councils urged to invest in public toilets
30/11/2021 The majority of UK adults want more investment from local councils to ensure that public toilets are clean and safe, a new survey has revealed. |
Councils undertake targeted testing to help stem spread of Omicron variant
29/11/2021 Targeted testing and contact tracing is taking place in Essex and Nottingham after two cases of Omicron COVID-19 variant were identified in the UK for the first time. |
Social care reform: what lies ahead?
25/11/2021 Sally Warren lays out four principles that should be at the centre of a ‘radically realistic’ White Paper on social care reform and asks if its vision will be the right one? |
Commuter train line exposed to ‘extreme levels’ of pollution
22/11/2021 Three councils have warned that residents living near the commuter train line running through the Chilterns are being exposed to dangerous levels of pollution. |
Local knowledge essential for boosting vaccine take-up, study finds
19/11/2021 Local knowledge and leadership could be key in efforts to improve COVID-19 vaccine take-up across different communities, new research has found. |
London’s ULEZ resulted in ‘only small improvements in air quality’
17/11/2021 London’s ULEZ has had little impact on air quality and is only effective as part of a wider approach to reducing carbon emissions, researchers say. |
Childhood obesity ‘one of the greatest public health challenges’
17/11/2021 Local authority leaders urge Government to do more to tackle childhood obesity as the NHS warns of a ‘significant increase’ in obesity rates among children. |
Social prescribing held back by data infrastructure, report finds
02/11/2021 A lack of available data and solid data infrastructure is preventing social prescribing from reaching its full potential, a report has warned. |
Three local authorities get extra COVID support
01/11/2021 Extra support is being given to three local authorities in the East of England to help tackle the rise in COVID-19 cases. |
End ‘scandalously low fee rates’, say homecare providers
26/10/2021 Councils should be better funded and required to pay more for care, says the UK’s membership body for homecare providers. |
Pandemic had 'devastating' health impact on shielded population, says charity
20/10/2021 Urgent action is needed to tackle the unmet health need and worsening mental health of those people asked to shield during the pandemic, a charity has said. |
Councils to explore innovative ways of tackling health inequalities
20/10/2021 Five councils are to take part in a new programme which will see them introduce innovative ways of improving health and tackling health inequalities. |
Think-tank makes call for wellbeing budgets
18/10/2021 The Government should introduce ‘wellbeing budgets’ that look beyond gross domestic product (GDP) to reduce regional health inequalities, a think-tank has urged. |
Study finds 'alarming' fall in life expectancy even before pandemic
13/10/2021 Life expectancy has fallen in many parts of England over the past decade, a new study has revealed. |
Poor housing making millions of people sick, charity warns
13/10/2021 Housing problems are harming the physical and mental health of one in five renters in England, new research from Shelter has revealed. |
Council to offer all staff a free flu jab
12/10/2021 Moray Council will offer all its staff the chance to get the seasonal flu vaccination in a bid to reduce sickness absence and improve wellbeing. |
Council chiefs criticise Government’s ‘central first, local later’ COVID response
12/10/2021 Local authority leaders have said that councils could have been given ‘a greater role’ in the initial response to COVID-19 after MPs criticised the Government for pursuing a strategy of ‘central first, local later’. |
MPs call for post-COVID recovery strategy for new parents
07/10/2021 MPs have called on Government to publish a COVID-19 recovery strategy for new parents which should include a fund to help councils arrange in-person visits. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.